Magic
by Mess of a Jess
Summary: *** STORY ABANDONED *** Years in the future, the entire Weasley family has found happiness... all except one... the future from George Weasley's PoV~ let this fic live! please review!
1. Part I

"We absolutely, positively, definitely cannot hire just some random person to work for us

A/N:cheesy story.Oh well.Enjoy.

DISCLAIMER:I own nothing.I'll pretty much leave it at that ;-)****

** **

**Magic**

By Jess

Chapter 1: 

"We _absolutely, positively, definitely _cannot hire just some random person to work for us."

George Weasley let out a deep sigh.This conversation wasn't going anywhere."Think about it, with the amount of customers coming in we spend most of the day just working the registers.If we could hire at least one other person to do that for us then we could spend more time in the 'development office'."George was referring to a small room behind their little shop where he and his twin brother spent countless hours, well, exploding things.

Fred tapped the tip of his wand against his forehead in frustration."We could use some new, er, products.But we can't sacrifice the stability and safety of Weasley Wizard Wheezes just to have a little more fun.To hire another person would mean paying them wages.We just cannot afford it.Stop looking at me like that, this is not a joke."

"But wasn't that what this business is all about?It's a joke shop, Fred.We're not running the Committee of Experimental Charms, we are living our dream!Lighten up!"He leaned in towards his twin brother."Fred, we're in our prime.Soon enough we'll just be the old gits who bother little kids with their toys."

Fred stroked his shortcut red beard for a moment.As if he had just remembered something important, he jumped up and stared at his watch."I've got to go.Promised Angelina I'd pick up dinner on the way home."In several long strides, he had reached the door.He grabbed his cloak on his way out, but before slamming the door behind him he turned back to George."We'll finish this later."And with that he was gone.

George sighed from frustration and walked towards the back room, a place where he could always find comfort and support, turning the lights in the store off as he went.He sat down at his little desk in the corner of the room, right next to Fred's.Both were heavily cluttered with mail, colorful sheets of parchment, and gags that they had been experimenting with.Out of habit, George looked at the various family pictures on his desk.His eyes paused at one of he and his brother, back in the old school days.They were so young, so- well maybe not so- innocent.He looked back and forth between the two young boys, identical in so many ways, unlike today.Today they could easily be defined as two separate individuals, and were never confused.Next to it was a picture taken only three years after their graduation, at the opening of Weasley Wizard Wheezes.Fred had by then grown his beard, and George too looked much older.

The last picture on his desk was one taken only a month before, at the Weasley family Halloween party, a tradition since all of the children had graduated from Hogwarts.It was taken back at the burrow, and the entire family could be seen posing in front.At the far left, his mother and father were waving frantically at him, his mother pausing every now and then to wipe a tear from her cheek in happiness.Next to his father stood Bill with his twelve-year-old red head daughter Molly, named after their mother, whom Bill was raising on his own after a brutal divorce.Charlie was next to him, looking keen and intelligent, yet much aged since his dragon fighting days with his wife Kelsie by his side.

Ron and Hermione, the newly weds, were sitting in the grass beneath them.George couldn't help but laugh at the looks Ron was stealing at Hermione, who was looking radiant.'Puberty struck her well' he remembered Fred telling him so many years ago.At the far right, Ginny sat in a lawn chair next to Percy, who was on the grass with Patricia, his 'colleague' as he said although she was far more after six years of dating him.Ginny's belly was somewhat swelled, nothing compared to how large it was now.Harry could be seen occasionally peeping back into the picture after running off to get her ice, pineapple, or fried chicken as her heart desired.Ginny and Harry were so happy, so in love, and had been since not long after their Hogwart's graduation.

George remembered back to their wedding only three years before, the most beautiful he had ever been to, and how hard his mother had cried on his shoulder when his father had gone to dance with the bride.How hard his mother had cried on his shoulder when Ron danced with the bride, and Harry danced with Hermione.How hard his mother cried on his shoulder when broom kissed bride, heck, how hard his mother cried on his shoulder the entire ceremony and reception.

George looked down to the bottom of the family picture.There, he sat on the grass with Fred and Angelina.Angelina sat off to the side as Katherine, Trisha, and Georgia, their three little girls, climbed all over the two twins.The children were beautiful, all with flaming red hair like their father.If ever he envied Fred for anything, it was his children, his wife, and his happy family.George was the only Weasley who sat alone in the picture, which he reminded himself of every time he looked at it.

'I could have married any of them if I wanted to.I just… didn't want to.'George winced at the reminder of his long line of failed relationships.'I didn't love them, not like I should have.'At this, his stomach churned in hunger causing him to get up and close the joke shop, grabbing his cloak as he magically locked the entrance.The December frost nipped at his nose and ears as he walked down Diagon Alley in search for a place to eat.

At the end of the new expansion of shops where at the end the joke shop was situated, he turned the corner and entered the main road of Diagon Alley.But before he had fully passed the corner, he ran into something, or someone, hard.

To be continued…


	2. Part II

A/N:thanks everyone for the great response!Here's part two:

DISCLAIMER:I own nothing, I'll pretty much leave it at that ;-)****

** **

Magic 

By Jess

Chapter 2:

Just before George hit the ground, he threw out his arm, saving his rear, but as soon as he hit the ground pain shot through his hand."Argh!Ouch!"

"I am so sorry!" came a soothing, casual voice next to him.Before looking up, he undoubtedly knew this voice belonged to a woman, not any woman but a foreigner, and changed his demeanor instantaneously.

He began to brush off his cloak."No, no, it's alright, I-" his voice caught in his throat as he finally glanced up at the possessor of the voice.On the ground beside him sat a young woman around his age wearing dark navy robes under a dark cloak.Long wavy brown hair fell from under her hat and down past her shoulders.He looked into her deep blue eyes that were covered by small wire rimmed glasses.He cleared his throat."I'm fine.I'm sorry this is all my fault."He got up off the ground, and reached his good hand down to the woman."Here let me help you." 

"Thank you.Are you all right?I saw you land pretty hard on that hand of yours."A chill went down his spine as she wiped a lock of hair off of her oval face.

"Actually, I…I… I'll be alright…"

"Well that's good."She began picking her things up off of the ground."By the way, I'm Deirdre Cerulean.I don't believe that we have met."

"Oh, uh," George stuck out his hand, "Fred, er," he mentally slapped himself, "I mean George Weasley."

She shook his hand."Glad to make your acquaintance, George, even if in the most peculiar of ways."

"Yes, quite.Nice to meet you, Deirdre.Oh, here, you dropped this."George leaned down and grabbed a book off the ground and handed it to her.

"Thanks…" she said rather whimsically.

"Er, so, where were you off to in such a hurray?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you the same thing?"She raised an eyebrow playfully, and he smiled back at her.

"Actually, I was off to find myself some dinner."As a second thought he added, "By any chance, would you care to join me?"

She seemed to look him over for a moment, and then answered, "Actually I… well… screw that.Where would you like to go?"

****************

Fifteen minutes later they had finally found a restaurant that wasn't packed full with wizard tourists, and they sat down at a table in the far corner.Each ordered their separate meals, and George took the initiative to begin a conversation.

"So…" he said.Soon after he regretted it, however, for she gave him a puzzled look.

"So…"

"So… what are you doing in London?I can tell by your accent that you are obviously not a native."

She laughed at his unusual curiosity."No, not a native.I moved here from Boston about three weeks ago hoping to get a job at the ministry…" her voice trailed off.

George sipped his water.'_The ministry?_' he thought.'_Impressive._'"What field?"

"Transnational Studies of Muggle Behavior.I was a part of the American Ministry of Magic and was promised a job here, but when I arrived it was a big let down.Jackasses…" she mumbled, but caught herself when George choked on the piece of ice he was chewing."Not to say that the entire Ministry of Magic is made up of jackasses," she added quickly, "but that was a major disappointment."

He laughed out loud for a few moments and then leaned back in his chair."I can imagine."

"So what do you do?" she said, leaning forward in her chair.

"I run a shop.With my twin brother…"

"Really?That's lovely!I'd love to have done something with one of my sisters, but we don't exactly share interests, so to speak."

"Well I wouldn't really call it an interest…" he gave her a teasing smile."We, er, run a joke shop."George watched with an amused grin on his face as she laughed very hard in enjoyment.He reached into his pocket and grabbed a small white handkerchief."Here, do you need this?"She gave him an annoyed grin, but to humor her new friend she mockingly used it to wipe under her eyes.Much to her surprise, as soon as the handkerchief reached her face, large tears began falling from her deep blue eyes.The more tears that fell the more she used the handkerchief.Now it was his turn to laugh.

"What's," sob, "so," sob, "funny?"

"You just used our newest invention.The 'cranky hanky.'It's still being manufactured, it's not yet in the store."She threw the cloth back at him and her tears soon subsided, and they both broke out in laughter.

****************

Later that night, as soon as he reached his apartment George ran over to his owl."Hello Shirley, baby.Want to take a little trip to see Fred?"The small tawny gray owl hooted in delight."Hold on, just let me get a piece of parchment."In several long strides he reached his bedside table and grabbed a quill and parchment.

_ _

_Fred-_

_I've found the perfect candidate for the job.She's great, I met her this evening.I'll explain more in the morning._

_ _

_George_

_ _

P.S.Give Georgia a kiss for me

A few minutes later, the owl had left the apartment and George sat down on his large incredibly hideous overstuffed armchair.He ran his fingers through his red hair which he now wore short and sleek, a more mature cut than the old bowl that he had had in school, and contemplated the events of the evening, overall at peace with himself.

To be continued…


	3. Part III

A/N:All right, here is part III.It's incredibly short, I know, but the next part is super long… I hope that makes up for it.

Disclaimer:I own nothing.I'll leave it at that ;-)

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** **

**Magic**

By Jess

Chapter 3:

George awoke the next morning to something scratching his upper arm.He tried to flick it away and return to his dream.It was a recurring one, one of his favorites.He was lying on a beach with a faceless woman wearing only a bikini, drinking some highly concentrated alcoholic beverage out of a coconut.

"Ouch, geroff…" The scratching continued."Come on…" He opened his eyes.Sunlight was flowing through his bedroom windows.He looked down at his arm, where Shirley, his owl, was scratching him.Tied to the bird's leg was a piece of parchment that he quickly unrolled.

George-

_ _

_I told you we would discuss this in the morning._

_ _

_Fred_

_ _

P.S.Don't oversleep again today, I need you to be on time- for once

George looked down to his small wristwatch."Oh shit."He jumped up out of bed and threw off his clothes while stumbling into the bathroom and turning on the shower.Three minutes later he was running around the apartment wearing only a blue terrycloth towel, dripping water all over the wood floors.Within the half hour, he was leaving his apartment and heading down the streets of London to the Leaky Cauldron, and into Diagon Alley.

"You're late," Fred blatantly stated as George waltzed in the door."Comb your hair, you look disgraceful."George paused in front of the mirror next to the door, and after his reflection had deflated to its normal size and appearance George noticed that he did look a wreck.He combed his wet hair back and straightened his robe.There was no fixing the numerous nicks on his chin, however, from his hasty shave that morning.

"So, I'm guessing you want to know all about the girl, right?"George sat down on the register counter.

"I must admit, I am a bit curious.Fresh meat-" Fred grinned devilishly.

"No, not like that."George said, interrupting his brother."This is not just another romantic fling, I'm talking business.She needs a job.Now don't give me that look, she's very intelligent.American, trying to get a job for the ministry, but needs something to do until then.Now here is the up side of this situation.This is not some woman that we'll have to fire after a while.She's going to _leave_."

"Well…"

"Tempting, isn't it?"

"Indeed…"

"I'm brilliant, aren't I?"

"Well…"

"Don't answer that."

After a brief pause, Fred decided on a plan of action."Let's call her up, see what her credentials are.Get some references, see her résumé.Then we'll see if she'd be fit for the job."

"See her résumé?Geez, when did you get so serious."

"When life came up and bit me in the rear."

"Hey, Fred, what are your _credentials?_"George said teasingly.

"George…"

"Let's get some _references_."

"_George…_"

"Let's get Percy down here to get that stick out of your ass."

"_GEORGE!_"George walked off to the back room, snickering.Before he sat down at his hectically organized desk, however, Fred was called him back up to the front.

"What do you want?"George said as he walked back outside.As he opened the door separating the two rooms, however, his voice caught in his throat.

"Well hello, George, it looks like we have a little guest.I'm sure you've met Miss…"

"-Cerulean."

"Yes, that's right, Miss _Cerulean_." 

"Right on time!Nice to see you again, Deirdre," George said, going over and shaking her hand.

"Yes, quite."

"George, my dear, sweet, _trusting_ brother, can I speak to you for a moment in private?"Fred led George into the back room, where Deirdre couldn't hear them outside.

"You git!You knew she would be coming today!"

"Come now.She's quite a fine lady, I'm sure you'll change your mind about her."

"You did this all behind my back!I feel so… so…"

"Ecstatic?"

"…Deceived!"

"Don't worry!Now let's go back out there and not keep her waiting."They headed towards the entrance, and as they opened the door Deirdre jumped from her seat.

"So when can I start?"Fred's ears turned red and he pushed George back into the other room.

"You already offered her the job?!"Fred yelled loudly.George winked at his screaming brother, who was steaming mad."This store is 50% mine, therefore I feel that I should have at least part of an opinion about it."

"It may be 50% yours, but it is also 50% mine.And those are my shoes you are wearing, which makes it 51% mine.Majority rules, she stays."George waltzed back outside."We'd be glad to have you start as soon as possible.How about… now?"

"That'd be great!"

"Excellent!So this is the register…"

****************

The three stayed at the store late into the night, discussing various things such as new gags, hot dogs, goblins, and paychecks.After her third cup of coffee, Deirdre finally gave into her sleepiness and let out a deep yawn.

"Man, I'm bushed."

George leaned far back in his chair."Yeah, I imagine we should just continue this in the morning.And on that note, I'm going home."He got up out of his chair and made a dramatic stretch."Can I walk you home, Dee?"

"Sure that'd be great.Well, it was nice meeting you Fred."She walked over and shook his hand."And I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning."

Fred watched as they walked through the door and out onto the deserted Diagon alley.'_Not a romantic fling, huh?'_ he thought.'_Bullshit…I give him three weeks.There is no way he can resist that.'_

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_ _

_ _

To be continued…


End file.
